What's Japanese in Japanese Animation?

What's Japanese in Japanese Animation? More often than using Norse mythology in anime, Christian symbols appear. However, the Japanese view on Christianity is very different than the American one. "The Japanese are not anti-Christian as a rule, but they regard the religion... as something exotic, inscrutable, superstitious, and probably linked to the occult." (Levi 25). Anime labeled as ‘highly controversial,’ usually because of the way they portray Christianity, are not really controversial at all. Or rather, they were not controversial in Japan. For example, Neon Genesis Evangelion has been hailed as the most controversial animeever. The original Japanese name of the series translates to The New Gospel. The enemies in the series are called Angels, and often send out huge cross-shaped beams of light when defeated. The first Angel, named Adam, is nailed to a cross. The robots built to combat the Angels are called Evas. As Dr. Ritsuko explains, Eva was created from Adam (Neon Genesis Evangelion ep 23). This refers to the creation story from the Bible, where the first woman, Eve, is created from the ribs of the first man, Adam. The point of this series is not to make Christianity seem evil; on the contrary, the animator wrote the series as an analysis of his inner self. The use of Christian symbols is meant to give the series a mysteriously, if not depressing, feel. In Xenogears, another controversial game brought over from Japan, one of the characters looses faith in god and decides to create a god of his own. As a result, the player must kill god to finish the game, an idea that seems heretical to Christians. Both Neon Genesis Evangelion and Xenogears explore the human mind and what people truly believe. "That image of Christianity may seem odd to many Americans, but it’s really no different from the image American film makers try to create when they use sets involving multi-armed Hindu statues to indicate something dark and mysterious." (Levi 63). The Japanese understand Christianity no better than most Americans would understand Buddhism. In Vampire Princess Miyu, the second monster, Ranka, stores the bodes of her victims in an abandoned church (ep 2). Before revealing that Ranka is indeed the enemy, the fact that she lives in a church foreshadows her connection with evil.

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